What to Look for in a Faith-Based Counselor — And What to Watch Out For

6 min read · Renew Counseling Center

When a pastor recommends counseling, or when someone in a faith community finally decides to seek professional support, one of the first questions they ask is: can I find a counselor who won’t dismiss my faith?

It’s a reasonable question. Not every counselor is equipped — or even willing — to hold a client’s faith as an asset rather than a problem to be worked around. And some approaches that call themselves “faith-based” carry their own set of risks.

Here’s what to look for, both as a faith-integrated counselor and as someone who has navigated this space for years in East Texas.

What “faith-based counseling” can mean — and doesn’t always mean

The term “faith-based counseling” is unregulated. Anyone can use it. It can mean many things:

A licensed counselor who holds personal faith and doesn’t actively contradict a client’s beliefs
A licensed counselor with formal training in faith integration (like Association of Biblical Counselors credentialing)
A pastoral counselor who offers support through a church but is not a licensed mental health professional
An approach that prioritizes Scripture or prayer over evidence-based clinical treatment

None of these is inherently wrong. But they’re very different from each other — and what you need depends on what you’re dealing with.

When a licensed professional matters

For significant mental health challenges — depression, anxiety, trauma, ADHD, crisis — you need someone with clinical training. Faith can and should be part of the conversation. But it can’t substitute for evidence-based treatment.

A licensed professional counselor (LPC), licensed professional counselor-supervisor (LPC-S), or licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) has completed a master’s degree in counseling or therapy, supervised clinical hours, and state licensure examinations. They are trained to assess, diagnose, and treat mental health conditions using approaches that have been studied and validated.

Pastoral counselors and lay Christian counselors may be excellent resources for spiritual support, mentorship, and community. But they are not mental health professionals — and for clinical issues, that distinction matters.

What good faith integration looks like

A good faith-integrated counselor holds your faith as a resource, not a complication. They:

Follow your lead. They don’t assume the level of faith integration you want. They ask. Some clients want prayer in sessions. Some want Scripture integrated into CBT. Some just want a counselor who won’t pathologize their belief in God. All of these are valid, and a good counselor adjusts to what you actually want.

Don’t use faith to bypass hard clinical work. “Just trust God more” is not a treatment plan for clinical depression. A skilled faith-integrated counselor can hold both the spiritual and the clinical dimensions without collapsing one into the other.

Can sit with the hard questions. Trauma, loss, and mental health crises often generate real spiritual anger and doubt. A counselor who is threatened by “I’m angry at God” or “I don’t know if I believe anymore” is not equipped for this work. A good faith-based counselor can hold those questions without defensiveness — and without rushing to resolve them before they’ve been genuinely heard.

Have real credentials in both areas. The Association of Biblical Counselors (ABC) offers credentialing that requires both clinical competence and biblical framework training. It’s a meaningful marker that a counselor has invested specifically in developing this integrated approach — as opposed to simply claiming faith alignment with no formal training behind it.

Justin Robinson, LPC-S — founder of Renew Counseling Center, 10+ years with East Texas teens and families. Renew offers faith-based counseling in Longview, TX — call (903) 386-3824 for a free 15-minute Fit Call.

What to watch out for

Counselors who won’t use evidence-based treatment. Prayer and Scripture are meaningful resources. They don’t replace cognitive behavioral therapy, trauma treatment, or appropriate medication for clinical conditions.

Counselors who treat all mental health challenges as primarily spiritual problems. Anxiety is not always a failure of faith. Depression is not always unconfessed sin. A counselor who reflexively spiritualizes clinical conditions can delay people getting the help they actually need.

Unlicensed practitioners presented as counselors. In Texas, the title “counselor” is legally regulated. If someone is offering counseling services without an LPC, LPC-Associate, LMFT, or equivalent license, they may not have the clinical training to address serious mental health concerns safely.

What we offer at Renew

Three of our counselors hold credentials through the Association of Biblical Counselors. All of our counselors are licensed or licensed-supervised mental health professionals. We use evidence-based approaches integrated with faith when that’s what clients want — and excellent clinical care when it isn’t.

We serve people of faith, people without faith, and people who are genuinely unsure about what they believe. All of them are welcome.

Call Renew Counseling Center at (903) 386-3824 for a free 15-minute Fit Call.

Sources: American Psychological Association — Can Religion and Spirituality Have a Place in Therapy?

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Written by Justin Robinson, LPC-S
Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor · Founder, Renew Counseling Center
Last reviewed June 2026